Newsline - September 15, 2000

September 15, 2000 00:00 GMT

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Newsline - September 15, 2000

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MORE CRITICISM OF INFORMATION SECURITY DOCTRINE VOICED...

A
top official with the Union of Journalists slammed the
Security Council's new information security doctrine, calling
the document "a real and present danger to the country's
information security" because it is "written in a spirit very
much at odds with the principles of freedom of expression and
openness," Interfax reported on 14 September (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 14 September 2000). The Union's general secretary,
Igor Yakovenko, objects to the apparent "conviction" of the
doctrine's authors that Russia's state-owned media must be
consolidated and expanded. He also questions a provision of
the doctrine calling for the setting up of regional bodies to
provide information security. He concludes that this
provision "looks like a revival of censorship." Yevgenii Volk
of the Heritage Foundation is equally critical of the
doctrine, telling Reuters the same day that its "general
intent is quite clear--the authorities are trying to increase
their control over all aspects of the mass media, including
the Internet" (see also "End Note" below). JAC

...AS NEWSPAPER CLAIMS ORT ALREADY UNDER KREMLIN CONTROL

"Vedomosti" reported on 14 September, citing an unidentified
presidential administration official, that the Kremlin
believes it has for the most part managed to wrest control of
Russian Public Television from Boris Berezovskii. According
to the source, the news department is no longer controlled by
Berezovskii's cronies and is now headed by new official
Sergei Goryachev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 September 2000).
Anchorman Sergei Dorenko has been taken off the air, and
general director Konstantin Ernst has been wooed over to the
Kremlin's side. Only Badri Patarkatsishvili, ORT executive
director, remains loyal to Berezovskii, as well as some
members of ORT's board of directors. According to the daily,
the Kremlin also plans to cleanse NTV of its more "political"
figures, such as general director Yevgenii Kiselev. JAC

DUMA TO SEEK 25 PERCENT HIKE IN DEFENSE SPENDING

Deputy
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin told
reporters on 14 September that the Russian government is
planning to increase defense spending each year. However, he
said there is no need to raise expenditures for next year
above the level already provided for in the draft 2001 budget
since this level is "sufficient, keeping in mind the
possibilities of the budget." Meanwhile, the State Duma's
Defense Committee plans to ask that spending be increased by
up to 52 billion rubles ($1.9 billion), ITAR-TASS reported
the same day. The draft currently calls for 206.3 billion
rubles for defense. JAC

TWO LAWMAKERS WANT U.S. SUB EXAMINED AS PART OF 'KURSK'
INVESTIGATION...

Aleksei Mitrofanov (Liberal Democratic Party
of Russia) and Nikolai Bezborodov (Russian Regions) have
proposed that the State Duma appeal to U.S. President Bill
Clinton and the U.S. Congress to order an "external
examination" of the "USS Memphis" submarine, which the two
lawmakers believe caused the sinking of the "Kursk" nuclear
submarine last month in the Barents Sea. The Duma Council on
14 September turned down their request to put the appeal on
the lower house's agenda, but Mitrofanov and Bezborodov
intend to ask deputies directly to consider their proposal.
The same day, a member of the government commission
investigating the causes of the "Kursk" disaster said the
stricken submarine was likely hit by a missile fired from a
Russian warship (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 September 2000).
On 15 September, Duma deputies are to debate what role they
should play in the "Kursk" investigation. Opinions are
currently divided in the house over whether a special
parliamentary commission should be formed. JC

...AS RUSSIAN ANTI-SUB WARSHIP FIRES MISSILE AT TOWN--BY
MISTAKE

Citing the Pacific Fleet press service, RIA-Novosti
reported on 15 September that the anti-submarine warship
"Admiral Pantilev" accidentally fired a missile at the town
of Slavyanka, in Primorskii Krai, during naval maneuvers the
previous day. The shell reportedly left a crater 1.5 meters
deep after exploding in marshes just outside the town, AFP
reported. The fleet admitted that "one elderly local resident
suffered concussion" in the incident. It blamed the warship's
gunners for the incident. JC

IVANOV SAYS SPY CASE SHOULD NOT UPSET RUSSIAN-JAPANESE
RELATIONS

Meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Yohei Kono,
at Russia's UN mission on 14 September, Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov said that the emergence of a possible
spy case involving a Japanese naval officer and a Russian
diplomat was "regrettable" but "should not have a negative
impact on good bilateral relations," AP reported, citing a
Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman. Meanwhile, ITAR-TASS
reported the same day that Japan has asked that Russian army
Colonel General Yurii Bukreev's scheduled trip to Japan be
postponed. And it has also put off a trip to Russia by 30
Japanese military officers, according to the same news
agency. JC

RUSSIA, U.S. TO SET UP JOINT GROUP TO FIGHT CRIME

Russian
Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo, speaking after talks
with FBI director Louis Freeh in Moscow on 14 September,
announced that Moscow and Washington intend to establish a
joint working group to boost cooperation in fighting crime.
That group is expected to meet for the first time next month,
and Freeh noted that the two sides are interested in
combating "not only organized crime but transnational crime
in general." Freeh is also scheduled to meet with Russian
Federal Security Service head Nikolai Patrushev and Justice
Minister Yurii Chaika. JC

VIETNAM REACHES AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA ON SOVIET-ERA DEBT

According to a Russian Finance Ministry statement released on
14 September, Russian and Vietnamese government negotiators
have agreed that Hanoi owes Moscow some $1.7 billion and can
repay that debt over 23 years. Most of that sum was borrowed
from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s. Earlier
talks on the issue had stalled because the two sides were
unable to agree on the exchange rate that should be used to
calculate the size of the debt. Also on 14 September,
Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai ended his five-day
visit to Moscow and left for Belarus. JC

RUSSIA LESS CORRUPT THAN UKRAINE, MORE CORRUPT THAN BELARUS

In Transparency International's annual Corruption Perception
Index released on 13 September, Russia ranked 82 out of 90
countries, with the 90th being perceived as the most corrupt
(see
).
The only countries that scored worse than Russia were
Cameroon, Angola, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Yugoslavia,
and Nigeria, with Nigeria occupying the last place. Of
countries of the former Soviet Union included in the survey,
Belarus fared best, occupying 42nd position. The Corruption
Perception Index is based on surveys of business people, the
general public and country analysts (see also "RFE/RL
Newsline," 14 September 2000, Part II). JAC

Meeting in Essentuki on 13 September, the
prime ministers of Ingushetia and North Ossetia, Akhmet
Malsagov and Taimuraz Mamsurov, agreed on measures intended
to speed up the return to North Ossetia of Ingush forced to
flee during the fighting in November 1992, "Izvestiya"
reported on 15 September. The Russian government will
allocate funds for that program, including to reconstruct
damaged homes and create new jobs. LF

REGIONAL LEADER ADVISES MOSCOW TO LOOK EAST

In an article in
"Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 14 September, Federation Council
Chairman and Orel Oblast Governor Yegor Stroev argues that
the world's geopolitical center "is steadily shifting from
the Atlantic to the Pacific." As a consequence, he recommends
that Russia's strategic priorities be reviewed to reflect
this shift. Stroev also advocates that priority be given to
"the joint utilization of oil and gas resources of Russia's
Far East and Siberia, and the construction of a network of
oil and gas pipelines and of powerful international electric
power lines." He says that an agreement has already been
reached with China on the implementation of major projects,
which he says could be the basis for building a common energy
system in Northeastern Asia. JAC

GUILTY PLEA ENTERED IN PLOT TO KILL GOVERNOR

Viktor
Tikhonov, the younger brother of Olympic champion biathlete
Aleksandr Tikhonov, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
murder Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleev, ITAR-TASS reported on
14 September. Aleksandr Tikhonov, 53, who was detained around
the same time as his brother, was hospitalized last week
following a concussion. Supporters of the elder Tikhonov say
his arrest is linked to a feud between Tuleev and the MIKOM
metals holding. Tihkonov is a close friend of MIKOM head
Mikhail Shivilo (see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Report," 16
August 2000). JAC

FIRST LADY TO TAKE UP LANGUAGE CAUSE?

While attending Russian
language and literature classes at the grade school in
Kaliningrad Oblast where she was once a pupil, Lyudmila
Putina, the wife of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told
teachers and students that she "wants to raise the prestige
of the Russian language in this country and abroad,"
Interfax-BNS reported on 14 September. According to the
agency, teachers found some of her records and reported that
she mostly earned the highest marks. JAC

ANOTHER FACTORY DIVIDED INTO ARMED CAMPS...

Two men, each of
whom had been selected by different groups of independent
shareholders to head Uralkhimmash, the chemical factory in
Sverdlovsk Oblast, wound up wrestling in the director's
office over the company seal, "The Moscow Times" reported on
15 September. Each was accompanied by armed bands of his own
supporters. On the night of 13 September, newly appointed
would-be director Andrei Vikharev entered the factory's
premises with a team of guards and employees and installed
himself in the director's office. When the former director,
Alekei Glotov, heard of this development, he and a team of
factory workers entered the locked factory with the help of a
crane. According to Interfax, 10 people have been injured in
the conflict so far. Yekaterinburg Mayor Arkadii Chernetskii,
who was himself a director at the factory several years ago,
has tried to mediate between the warring factions. According
to RFE/RL's correspondent in Yekaterinburg, a local oligarch,
Pavel Fedulov, is behind Vikharev, while the majority of the
factory's workers support Glotov. JAC

...AS EXPERIENCED MANAGERS GET CAR, BODYGUARD

Employers in
Russia's outlying regions are actively searching for
experienced managers, "Vremya MN" reported on 14 September.
And the greatest demand is for specialists in the food
industry. According to the newspaper, such specialists can
demand contracts for three-five years, while applicants with
the highest qualifications are frequently provided with an
apartment or free-standing house, transportation, and,
depending on the type of business, a bodyguard. The daily
reported that people want to live in the provinces generally
for two reasons: to gain experience in managing a large
enterprise and to be in a place where the cost of living is
lower than in Moscow. JAC

EX-COLD WAR ENEMY TO BLAME FOR SMOKING-RELATED ILLNESSES?

Following the example of a host of other countries, Moscow is
suing U.S. tobacco companies for compensation for public
health care funds spent on smoking-related illnesses, AP
reported on 15 September. The suit was filed by Kremlin
facilities director Vladimir Kozhin in Miami, where a $145
billion anti-smoking verdict was reached in July. Since the
collapse of the USSR, some of the biggest investors in Russia
have been U.S. cigarette companies. Tobacco consumption
remains very widespread in Russia, and there are few
restrictions on smoking in public places. JC

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS KARABAKH

On a working visit to the
unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on 13-14 September,
Robert Kocharian met with enclave President Arkadii
Ghukasian, Prime Minister Anoushavan Danielian, and National
Assembly speaker Oleg Esayan, Noyan Tapan reported. Kocharian
also reviewed construction and infrastructure projects in the
enclave financed by Armenian diaspora foundations, including
the north-south highway. LF

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT FACTION REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR CABINET

Karen Karapetian, secretary of the second-largest Kayunutiun
parliamentary faction, told journalists in Yerevan on 14
September that at a recent meeting with Prime Minister
Andranik Markarian, Kayunutiun members said the faction's two
representatives in the present cabinet are prepared to
continuing working in their current capacity, Noyan Tapan
reported. Markarian, for his part, expressed satisfaction
with the performance of Transport and Communications Minister
Eduard Madatian and Nature Conservation Minister Murad
Muradian. A member of Kayunutiun had told RFE/RL in late
August that the faction hoped to gain additional cabinet
posts. LF

EXILED FORMER AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT SAYS HE'LL RETURN 'IN
TRIUMPH'

Ayaz Mutalibov said in a 30-minute interview with
Ekho Moskvy on 14 September that he does not doubt that some
day he will return "in triumph" to Baku, provided that the
current authorities enact legislation on the status of former
presidents. Mutalibov has lived in exile in Moscow since the
opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front thwarted his attempt to
regain power in May 1992; the parliament had voted him out of
office two months earlier. Mutalibov criticized what he
termed the lack of democracy in Azerbaijan and the oppression
of the media, as exemplified by the arrest of opposition
"Yeni Musavat" editor Rauf Arifoglu. Meanwhile in Baku, more
than a dozen Mutalibov supporters are continuing a hunger
strike they began one week ago to demand that the present
leadership create conditions that would enable Mutalibov to
return to Azerbaijan, Turan reported. LF

COMMITTEE TO DEFEND RIGHTS OF FORMER AZERBAIJANI COMMUNIST
BOSS

A committee has recently been formed in Baku to protect
the rights and lobby for the rehabilitation of Abdulrakhman
Vezirov, Mutalibov's predecessor as first secretary of the
Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Turan reported on 14
September. Vezirov held that post from May 1988 until January
1990, when he was dismissed in the wake of the Soviet army
reprisals against the civilian population of Baku. He is
believed to be working at the Russian Trade representation in
Prague. LF

The Azerbaijani Communist Party has been
barred from contesting the 25 mandates to be allocated under
the proportional system in the 5 November parliamentary
ballot, Turan reported. Central Electoral Commission chairman
Mazahir Panahov said that 17 of the 30 candidates on the
party's list failed to provide the required income and
property declaration and that the list had not been signed by
the party's executive. LF

SENIOR U.S. MILITARY OFFICIAL VISITS GEORGIA

On a one-day
visit to Tbilisi on 14 September, General Henry Shelton, who
is chairman of the joint U.S. Chiefs of General Staff, met
with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, Defense Minister
David Tevzadze, and parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, AP
and Caucasus Press reported. Shelton expressed approval of
the ongoing reform and downsizing of the Georgian armed
forces. He also said that the U.S. government has proposed
military aid in 2001 worth $12 million, including 10
helicopters and financial assistance for retired army
personnel. Congress, however, has not yet approved that sum.
LF

GEORGIAN TEACHERS STRIKE

Pedagogues in 60 schools in
Georgia's Mtskheta-Mtianeti region have refused to resume
teaching when the academic year begins on 18 September to
protest the non-payment of their salaries over the past 10
months, Caucasus Press reported on 14 September. Also on 14
September, Caucasus Press reported that retired policemen
will be given 5 kilograms of macaroni by the Union of Police
Pensioners and Invalids to compensate for not having received
their pensions for the past 10 months. LF

POLICE DETAIN KAZAKH DISSIDENT

Without explanation, police
in Almaty escorted Karishal Assanov from his apartment on 14
September but released him three hours later, RFE/RL's bureau
the former capital reported. Assanov informed RFE/RL that he
has been summoned for questioning on 20 September in
connection with his journalistic activities. Assanov recently
published an article criticizing Kazakhstan's President
Nursultan Nazarbaev. LF

The Kyrgyz Constitutional
Court on 13 September ruled that the mandatory language
examination for prospective presidential candidates is legal,
thereby rejecting an appeal by Iskhak MasAliyev and Dooronbek
Sadyrbaev, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. MasAliyev failed
the test, while Sadyrbaev passed but earlier this week
announced his intention to withdraw his candidacy (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 12 September 2000). Seven candidates have
passed the language test and another seven have failed.
Opposition Ar-Namys Party chairman Feliks Kulov will sit the
examination on 18 September. The deadline for registration of
candidates is 23 September. LF

KYRGYZ DEFENSE MINISTRY DENIES REPORT OF NEW FIGHTING

Government troops in Kyrgyzstan's southern Batken oblast told
RFE/RL on 14 September that Kyrgyz troops engaged Islamist
guerrillas earlier that day near the village of Syrt, which
is 35 kilometers from the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. The government
troops reportedly sustained no casualties. But spokesmen for
the Defense Ministry denied any knowledge of that clash,
saying that over the previous 24 hours only one minor
exchange of fire had been reported. That incident was said to
have taken place at the Jyluu-Suu border post. LF

TAJIK PRESIDENT RULES OUT INCURSION BY 'TERRORISTS'

Speaking
in the city of Tajikabad on 13 September, Imomali Rakhmonov
said the Tajik armed forces will forestall any attempt by
"international terrorists" in Afghanistan to infiltrate
Tajikistan and use the country as a "bridgehead," AP and
ITAR-TASS reported. He added that instability in Tajikistan
would pose a threat to the security of the whole of Central
Asia. Meanwhile "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 15 September
published what it says are the details of Turkmen President
Saparmurat Niyazov's proposed Afghan peace plan (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 1 and 4 September 2000). That plan entails a
cease-fire that will last between 24 and 48 months, special
administrative powers for Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah
Massoud on the territory that he traditionally controls,
cooperation between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban in
governing the country, and the deployment of an observer
mission on Massoud's "autonomous" territorry. LF

UZBEK ARRESTED IN KAZAKHSTAN IN CONECTION WITH TASHKENT
BOMBINGS

An unnamed Uzbek citizen has been detained at a
border crossing between southern Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on
suspicion of involvement in the terrorist bombings in the
Uzbek capital in February 1999, Interfax reported on 14
September. The man's name was not disclosed. Kazakh customs
officials reportedly recognized him from photographs of the
suspects circulated by Uzbek police. LF

BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER MAY NOT RUN IN ELECTION IN
PROTEST

A Minsk district electoral commission has registered
Mikalay Statkevich, leader of the opposition Social
Democratic Party (Popular Assembly) (SDP), as a candidate in
the legislative elections, RFE/RL's Service reported on 14
September. Statkevich told journalists that regional
electoral commissions registered only two out of the 16 SDP
members seeking registration for the ballot. According to
Statkevich, the authorities "intentionally" allowed him to
run while excluding the other SDP members. Statkevich warned
that unless the Central Electoral Commission or the Supreme
Court rules that his colleagues must be registered, he will
not run in the election. The SDP said the same day that none
of its representatives has been included in regional
electoral commissions. The party said it will join the other
opposition parties in boycotting the poll if the authorities
continue to violate legislation during the election campaign.
JM

BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT PUNISHES OFFICIALS FOR FAILING TO PAY
WAGE ARREARS

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has issued a decree
punishing those officials who failed to pay wage arrears by 1
September, as he had earlier ordered, Belarusian Television
reported on 14 September. Lukashenka fired 90 officials and
ordered the Minsk Prosecutor's Office to bring to justice
those officials who "deliberately provided incomplete or
false information" about the payment of wage arrears. JM

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY DEEMED 'UNRELIABLE'

Viktor
Volkov, head of the Revival of Regions parliamentary caucus
and an influential "oligarch," told journalists on 14
September that amending the constitution in line with the 16
April referendum will be difficult since the pro-government
parliamentary majority is unreliable. According to Volkov,
only six groups--Revival of Regions, Labor Ukraine, Social
Democratic Party (United), Greens, Popular Democratic Party,
and Yabluko--adhere strictly to the majority's obligations,
while such groups as Fatherland, both factions of the split
Rukh, and Reforms-Congress support the majority only when "it
suits their interests," Interfax reported. Volkov added that
his caucus wants Deputy Premier Yuliya Tymoshenko to be
dismissed from Viktor Yushchenko's cabinet for her
"incompetence" in the energy sector. Some Ukrainian
commentators assert that Tymoshenko's energy policies have
substantially reduced Volkov's control over Ukraine's gas and
oil supplies as well as his personal financial gain. JM

UKRAINE MAKES TIMELY EUROBOND PAYMENT

The Finance Ministry
said on 14 September that Kyiv made a second scheduled
payment of $56.3 million on its Eurobonds, Interfax reported.
The Eurobonds are part of the debt rescheduling scheme drawn
up in the spring, whereby Ukraine swapped $2.7 billion worth
of bonds maturing in 2000 and 2001 for seven-year Eurobonds
denominated in euros (10 percent interest annually) and U.S.
dollars (11-percent interest annually). Ukraine must pay
interest on Eurobonds every quarter. The country's foreign
debt currently stands at $10.6 billion, according to the
Finance Ministry. JM

ESTONIAN FINANCE MINISTER CALLS FOR REFORM OF UN SECURITY
COUNCIL

In his address to the 55th UN General Assembly on 14
September, Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves
called for changes to be made regarding the lineup of the UN
Security Council. Ilves argued that "the composition of the
council reflects the power relationships current in 1945,"
BNS reported. "The guarantors and greatest contributors to
stability in the world have, in the course of half a century,
changed fundamentally," Ilves said, adding that the UN should
also be subject to fundamental change. Ilves also pledged
that Estonia will pay all its UN peacekeeping dues, saying
"security cannot be had at discount prices." MH

LATVIAN COALITION TEETERING AGAIN

The governing coalition
faced further internal turmoil on 14 September after the
parliament failed to approve former Finance Minister Edmunds
Krastins as the head of a new Finance and Capital Markets
Commission. Andris Skele, the leader of the People's Party,
of which Krastins is a member, noted that this was the second
time in recent weeks that coalition partner For Fatherland
and Freedom had voted against the government, BNS reported.
Skele angrily accused the government of "vegetating" and
blamed the result on his long-time rival, Ventspils Mayor
Aivars Lembergs, saying all who voted against Krastins are
"children of the same political family that has a foster
father down in the Ventspils swampland." Earlier this week,
Lembergs had called on prosecutors to file charges of abuse
of power against Krastins in his former capacity as finance
minister. Prime Minister Andris Berzins said he is "very
disappointed" by Krastins's rejection. MH

POLISH TRUCKERS LAUNCH GO-SLOW PROTEST OVER FUEL PRICES

Polish truck drivers on 15 September launched the go-slow
protest they had threatened the previous day (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 14 September 2000). The decision to go ahead with
the protest was taken following abortive all-night
negotiations between the haulers' trade union and the
government. The truck drivers demand a 30 percent cut in fuel
prices, primarily by lowering government taxes on fuel.
Finance Minister Jaroslaw Bauc said the taxes on fuel will
not be changed but revealed that the government is
considering cuts in fuel import tariffs. Meanwhile, Poland's
two refineries decided on 14 September to lower the price for
1 liter of diesel fuel by the equivalent of 0.13 cents and
for 1 liter of gasoline by 0.35 cents. The refineries refused
to confirm whether the move was made owing to fears of
blockades similar to those in Western Europe. JM

CZECH LOWER CHAMBER OVERRIDES PRESIDENTIAL VETO

The Chamber
of Deputies has once again approved the law on political
parties, overriding President Vaclav Havel's 10 June veto of
that legislation, CTK reported on 14 September. The law
increased state financing of political parties from 500,000
crowns to 1 million crowns (some $25,000) for each deputy or
senator elected and limited donations to political parties by
individuals to 50,000 crowns a year. Also on 14 September,
the chamber approved lifting the political immunity of
Christian Democratic Party leader Jan Kasal, who is being
prosecuted for causing bodily harm in a car accident in which
he was involved in July. MS

SLOVAK PRESIDENT IS BITTER TOWARD RULING COALITION

"I am a
democratically elected president, not the servant of the
governing coalition," Rudolf Schuster stressed in an
interview with the German daily "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" on
14 September. Schuster said the coalition wanted to avoid
the referendum on early elections initiated by the
opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, but he had
to call it in order not to violate the constitution. He
added that he believes the plebiscite will not succeed
owing to a low turnout, CTK reported. He also complained
that during his recent serious illness, the coalition cared
only about getting rid of him: "When I was fighting for my
life in the airplane bound for Innsbruck, the government
official who accompanied me had only one worry: he wanted
the doctors to sign a document confirming my inability to
perform as president," Schuster said. MS

SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY EXCHANGE WARNINGS

Foreign Ministry State
Secretary Jaroslav Chlebo on 14 September summoned
Hungarian Ambassador to Slovakia Miklos Boros to tell him
that it is "inappropriate" for Hungary to interfere in
Slovak domestic disputes over plans to redraw local
administration boundaries, TASR and Hungarian media
reported. The warning comes after Hungarian Foreign
Ministry State Secretary Zsolt Nemeth summoned Stefan
Markus, Slovak ambassador to Budapest, to express "concern"
that those plans will divide the Komarno region and that
relations between the two countries will suffer as a
result. The administrative reform plans to replace the
eight existing regions with 12 new ones. The Slovak
Hungarian Coalition is demanding that Komarno, which has a
large Hungarian minority population, constitute its own
region. MS

HUNGARIAN PREMIER WARNS AGAINST FUEL PRICE PROTESTS

Prime
Minister Viktor Orban on 14 September warned that
demonstrations against rising oil prices in Hungary "will
lead nowhere...just as they led nowhere in Western Europe."
The Association of Hungarian Truckers had announced earlier
that it will "shrink from no means" following the state oil
and gas company MOL's stated intention to raise gasoline
prices by 2.7 percent and diesel by 5.4 percent. "I tell
every Hungarian...that it is not worth demonstrating
[against damage] caused for reasons independent of us and
beyond ourselves," Orban said in reference to the rising
fuel prices on world markets. MS

EU MAKES MAJOR TRADE CONCESSION TO SEVERAL BALKAN COUNTRIES

The EU has announced it will "soon" establish a large free-
trade zone for industrial and agricultural products from
Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Macedonia, RFE/RL's
South Slavic Service reported on 14 September. Montenegrin
aluminum will also be admitted duty free. Brussels will
extend similar trade concessions to Serbia once it has a
democratic government. The EU's decision meets a long-
standing demand from the countries of the western Balkans for
improved trade relations. PM

ANNAN DISCUSSES YUGOSLAV SUCCESSION QUESTION

At the UN on 14
September, the foreign ministers of Bosnia, Croatia,
Macedonia, and Slovenia told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
that all former Yugoslav republics must be treated equally in
determining their rights as successors. They slammed the
Belgrade regime's claim that it is the sole legal successor
to the former state and therefore entitled to its assets and
seats in world bodies, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service
reported. The ministers stressed that Belgrade must apply for
a UN seat as a successor state and not automatically receive
the former Yugoslavia's chair. PM

FINAL LEGISLATIVE, GOVERNMENT SESSIONS IN SLOVENIA...

The
parliament passed two laws on 14 September aimed at bringing
the country's legal system in line with that of the EU,
"Dnevnik" reported. The government agreed on a 11.7 percent
raise for health workers in 2000, which will be paid in lump
sum next year, Ljubljana's Radio 24 UR reported. The cabinet
also decided on financial help for the economically important
Gorenje electrical goods company, whose main plant was
recently damaged by fire. It is unclear, however, which
government agency will pay how much money and to whom. PM

...AS ELECTION SEASON BEGINS

The closing of the legislative
session marks the start of the parliamentary election
campaign for the 15 October ballot, "Dnevnik" reported.
Candidates will seek to use "arguments and charm" on
Slovenian Television every weekday evening to win votes, the
Ljubljana daily added. Some private television stations and
radio broadcasters plan daily election coverage of their own,
as well as Internet services. Prime Minister Andrej Bajuk,
who leads one of three Christian Democratic parties, paid a
"state visit" to Pope John Paul II in the Vatican on the eve
of the start of the campaign. PM

CROATIAN OPPOSITION PLANS PROTESTS

Several war veterans' and
invalids' organizations in various cities and towns will soon
stage protests against the recent arrest of war crimes
suspects, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 14
September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 September 2000). The
opposition-controlled government of Split-Dalmatia County
also condemned the arrests as politically motivated. Prime
Minister Ivica Racan said in Zagreb that he will not be
intimidated by "groups of extremist individuals" who are
working against "national interests." Elsewhere, a police
spokesman said that General Ivan Andabak, who was among those
arrested, was not charged with war crimes but with
involvement in a major drug-smuggling ring. PM

MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT: UN SUMMIT MARKS START OF 'LEGITIMACY'

President Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 14 September
that his country's "participation" in the recent UN summit
marks the beginning of Montenegro's "legitimacy in the UN
system" of organizations. Djukanovic added that the
international community's admission of Montenegro to
unspecified meetings at the summit showed that members of the
world body understand Montenegro's difficulties within the
Yugoslav federation, Montena-fax reported. He argued that
many UN members "appreciate Montenegro's efforts aimed at
democratization, economic development, and international
integration as a state [in its own right]." Meanwhile in
Ljubljana, the Ministry for Economic Relations and
Development said in a statement that Slovenia will henceforth
exempt Montenegro from sanctions against federal Yugoslavia,
"Danas" reported. PM

MACEDONIAN ALBANIAN PARTY: NO EARLY ELECTIONS

Arben Xhaferi,
head of the Democratic Party of Albanians (PDSH), which is
part of the governing coalition, said on 13 September that
his party is opposed to dissolving the parliament and holding
early elections, (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 15 September
2000). The opposition has demanded that such elections be
held. Xhaferi added that the ethnic Albanians will boycott an
early vote, MIC news agency reported from Skopje. He blamed
communist-era police officials for several violent incidents
in the recent local elections. Elsewhere, a spokesman for the
opposition ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity
said that his party will boycott the upcoming second round of
the local elections. The PDSH won the majority of ethnic
Albanian votes in the first round. PM

CONTACT GROUP CALLS FOR 'DEMOCRATIC' YUGOSLAVIA

Diplomats
from the six-member international Contact Group for the
former Yugoslavia issued a statement in New York on 14
September saying they "look forward to a democratic
Yugoslavia, so that it can be reintegrated in the
international community and play its rightful part in
contributing to the stability of the entire region," AP
reported. The news agency added that Russian diplomats only
reluctantly agreed to including the word "democratic." ITAR-
TASS reported that the text also calls for an end to violence
against Serbs in Kosova and for strict implementation of
Security Council Resolution 1244, as Russian diplomats
wanted. PM

PRO-MILOSEVIC CROWDS ATTACK SERBIAN OPPOSITION CANDIDATE

Several dozen supporters of Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic pelted opposition presidential candidate Vojislav
Kostunica with stones, tomatoes, and eggs in Mitrovica on 14
September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 September 2000). The
demonstrators also damaged several cars. Some eight people
were treated for injuries. Kostunica was hit beneath the eye
with a stone. He said in a statement that the attack shows
Milosevic is weak. Kostunica added: "Lacking the courage to
face either me or the people, Milosevic is exploiting those
few desperate souls who are ready to take a fistful of
freshly-printed money in order to tarnish the reputation of
the people of Mitrovica and the remaining Kosovo Serbs,"
Reuters reported. The mob also attacked an RFE/RL
correspondent, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported.
Milosevic has frequently made use of street mobs over the
years to intimidate his opponents. PM

'DAY OF SILENCE' FOR KOSOVA ALBANIAN MEDIA

Kosova's seven
Albanian-language dailies did not appear on 15 September to
protest the recent violence against journalists, Reuters
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 12 and 13 September 2000).
Radio stations played music instead of carrying news
programs. Meanwhile in central Prishtina, a spokesman for UN
police said that unknown gunmen the previous day killed an
elderly Albanian, who worked for the police before Milosevic
purged ethnic Albanians from government service in 1989, AP
reported. PM

ROMANIAN VETERAN RIGHTISTS TO QUIT PARLIAMENT...

Ten
veteran members of the National Peasant Party Christian
Democratic (PNTCD) announced on 14 September they will not
seek re-election to the parliament at the end of this year,
RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The veterans, many of
whom are in their 80s, said they are "not withdrawing from
politics" but intend to "allow the PNTCD" to forge an
intellectual elite from among the ranks of the younger
generation. Such an elite, according to the veterans, would
promote Christian Democratic values, respect the party's
past, and refuse to accept compromise disguised "under the
mask of pragmatism" (a clear allusion to the National
Liberal Party). Among the 10 veterans are former PNTCD
First Deputy Chairman Gabriel Tepelea and PNTCD Deputy
Chairman Nicolae Ionescu-Galbeni. MS

...AS DOES VETERAN SOCIAL DEMOCRAT

Social Democratic Party
(PSDR) Honorary Chairman Sergiu Cunescu also announced on
14 September that he will not seek re-election to the
legislature. Cunescu harshly criticized the agreement
between the PSDR and the main opposition Party of Social
Democracy in Romania to run on joint lists and merge after
the elections. He said the PSDR has "self-enslaved itself"
to a formation that "has been born out of a conspiracy in
the darkness of the Romanian Communist Party" and that
ruled Romania after 1990 by "confiscating the revolution"
and by carrying out a "Stalinist process of political
assassination." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu
has accepted the resignation of PSDR Labor and Social
Affairs Minister Smaranda Dobrescu and appointed Lucian
Albu, who is politically independent, to replace her. MS

CZECH FIRM DIRECTOR DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ROMANIAN
ASSASSINATION

Zdenek Zemek, chairman of the board of the
Czech Zelezarny Veseli administrative council, refused on
14 September to travel to Bucharest for negotiations with
the State Property Fund on reaching an "amicable solution"
on revoking the privatization of the Iasi-based Tepro pipe
mill. Zemek said his "personal security" is in danger owing
to "allegations" in the media that he has been personally
implicated in the murder of Tepro trade union leader Virgil
Sahleanu. Zemek denies any "direct or indirect involvement"
in the murder and says Sahleanu's assassination has
"prejudiced the interests" of his company and generated "a
wave of hostile emotions" against his country, Mediafax
reported. MS

MOLDOVA REJECTS RUSSIAN PLAN FOR TRANSDNIESTER

Deputy
Foreign Minister Eugen Kapova said on 14 September that his
country cannot accept the plan drawn up by Yevgenii Primakov,
head of the Russian state commission for the peaceful
solution of the Transdniester conflict. Kapova said Moldova
cannot agree to a plan that "provides for Moldova's
federalization," Romanian Radio reported on 15 September. He
said that Primakov's plan contravenes "the norms of
international law" and all documents agreed on during earlier
negotiations, including the 1997 Moscow memorandum. MS

NEW RUSSIAN MEDIA DOCUMENT GIVES CAUSE FOR CONCERN

By Sophie Lambroschini

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently approved a new
policy doctrine on information security.

The doctrine, drafted by the Security Council, is not a
law and has no legal force. Nevertheless, its vague and
overly long wording has triggered concern that it may be used
by the authorities to exercise stricter control over the
media.

Sergei Ivanenko, the head of the Yabloko faction in the
State Duma and a member of the lower house's information
committee, told RFE/RL that as it stands, the document is an
"empty shell." But he says the sheer length of the document--
some 9,000 words--probably masks various bad intentions. He
says if the doctrine's authors really wanted to promote press
freedom, the document would fit on one page.

On the one hand, the doctrine does pledge to protect the
rights of citizens to receive, transmit, and share
information. And it promises more efforts to update
technology to protect military and commercial secrets. But on
the other, its sheer wordiness leaves the reader with the
distinct impression that the authorities consider information
to be a dangerous weapon.

The doctrine states plainly that Russia's information
security is threatened by the "dissemination of
misinformation" about state policy and the aim of "certain
countries" to infringe on Russian interests and dominate in
the global sphere of information.

Yevgenii Volk, a researcher with the Heritage Foundation
who writes frequently on Russian political and security
issues, told RFE/RL that the doctrine reflects what he calls
the authorities' "obsession with control." "[The doctrine] is
in keeping in a completely logical way with what is happening
with the government's policy to establish control over all
key spheres of [political] life--be it political parties,
parliament, the regions--and of course, to a certain extent,
over information in its largest sense," he comments.

Volk says the doctrine should be read in light of past
official statements. After the "Kursk" nuclear submarine
disaster, for example, Putin chided the media, which had been
critical of the government's handling of the crisis, saying
newspapers and television had spread lies and were
undermining the army.

According to Volk, another source of concern is the
vagueness of a formulation that leaves "any bureaucrat free
to interpret" the intentions of the president. He says the
general tone of the document reflects what he calls the
"Soviet" education of its authors.

Andrei Richter, head of the Center for Media Policy, a
Russian non-governmental fund, agrees that the document lends
itself to criticism. But he says there is no reason to panic
since the doctrine has no legal force whatsoever.

Many fear, however, that the document is only a first
step in a legal assault on the free press that could begin
soon with changes to the country's relatively liberal media
law. The law was first adopted in 1991 and then modified in
1995. For months, there have been rumors that the government
intends to use its relatively strong position in the State
Duma to push through certain amendments.

A member of the Duma information committee told RFE/RL
that the lower house is constantly bombarded with proposals
for amendments to the law on the media. Vadim Bulavinov says
there have been more than 500 proposals to amend the law,
although he says most will not be adopted.

Those amendments most likely to be passed, he says,
would not infringe on basic press freedoms but would
introduce some important changes. "[The amendments] don't
violate the rights of journalists in any way. They speak
about a more objective attitude and more responsibility for
the information they publish," Bulavinov notes.

Other bills in preparation include one that would
establish a higher council for morality in television and
radio broadcasting. That bill would punish a radio or
television station if journalists took advantage of an
interviewee's emotional state to make him say things that may
get him into trouble. And it would also force media outlets
to give equal space to different points of view.
The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Moscow.